Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1887-01-07
HORSE HABITS.
Something About Equine
Ways and Peculiarities.
Horses Disposed to be Gentle or Savage
According to Treatment.

4 gentleman who has made a study oil
horses and their characteristics for years
and who i the owner ola number OF tine
animals, was shown by New YORK
Nal aa{ Erpress reporter, an tenn that
has been going the rounds of the press
about a horse becoming insane.
81 do not believe there is any such |
thing as insanity among horses, he SAID
"a Ahorse may become wild and urmanage-
able from pain, such as the toothache, OF
because of cruel and brutal treatment OF
fright, but it is only a temporary affection.
But | will not deny that many horses
are natural fools. have in fact seen
many such on which there was NJ
dependence, and Characteristic Of
which is the taking up Of Il mouth'ul o.
hay and tossing it about, making fre-
quently no headway in eating. Sucli
horses show no affection, and a stranger
can drive them as readily as one who has
handled them for years, which is not the
case with an intelligent horse. One
thing that makes horse nervous are
these fancy curb bits, which hurt horse
considerably, and | attr butte great deal
of this so-called vicousness to these con
triyanees. No, sir; l do not even be-
lieve in natural viciousness in horse.
To ill-trcatmcut this is all due. Take a
high-stlung, nervous horse and it does
not require much ill-treatment to
make him vicious. have seen
horses and owned them which would
be perfectly gentle in harness and in the
stable, but the moment they would
see me take up a stick or whip would at
once seem to change their dispositions
and try to jump upon me and otherwise
do me harm. Out West last summtr l
came across n black horse which had
killed three men, and which worked six
mites to death. lie was worked twelve
years day and night on stage coach
He would trample both men and his
mates to death the moment they came
too near him. But lie was ii,-treated,
brutally treated, all the time. Why,
every time they put harness on him
they would keep him goaded with a
pitehfork so that he trembled with fear
] all the time. Il was quite sight to see
snapped about him heavy rope was<
tied about his neck and then he would
be dubbed over the head and backed
out of the stall. Then the rope would
be thrown over beam and the men
would take the bride and club him with
it on the head so as to stun him before
they could get it on. He was large,
powerful animal, and fine looking. Ye;
to-day that horse is as gentle as a kitten.
Why so9 Because he passed into other
hands from which lie received kind
treatment; that is all he needed.
81 have light sorrel horse namcd
Rowdy, which l have owned about two
years. He was very high strung and
notorious runaway when got him. The
man who sold him TO me confessed that
no impression could be made on the
horses mouth. l began with gentle
treatment and letting him know that
was his master and drove him with a
straight Bit. At the start he kicked
straight out of the traces. Now
he is subducd and gentle, and
the moment speak to him he obcys and
will come everywhere to me at the sound
of my voice. He has trait that causes
much amusement. We allowed him to
run in pasture with mate. Rowdy was
always great fence jumper, but his
mate was not on the start. When to-
gether, Rowdy would leap fence and
then seeing his mate decline to follow,
would at first coax 10y jumping it over
severa. times back and forth, and al
last, seeing this would not succeed,
would begin biting the other one an
pushing it with his nose until he com
PEELED it to jump.
While west | noticed that frequently
horses are guided the same as oxen,
without reins, and that it is very easy
to teach them to obey in this way. Il Is
like everything else about a horse-Iet
HIM have conf lence in his master and
he will do anything. | saw an odd IN
stance of balky horse out there. 1t
was in Michigan AMI he was attached to
light buggy. The horse was very
large, and would weigh 1,700 to 1900
pounds. They were on level and alter
going about eighty rods the hors
stopped short and would not bulge. He
was beaten, knocked and whipped but
without avail Then a yoke Of cattle
was brought up and fastened, to which
was a chain which was fastened about
the horses neck That horse was
dragged half a mile by the cattle, and
then was as stubborn as at first. IlcI
was finally left alone and after 8tandin-
seven hours started up all right Of hi
own accord. The trouble is that when
horse gets balky people lose their tenn
pers, and this only makes matters worse.
The only sure remedy for a balky horse
is to blindfold him by banding his eyes
never knew this to fail, as it seems to
take away the animals attention from
the subject over which he is stubborn.